Monday, February 26, 2018

“Life Through A Glass” by Curtsy – A Song Review

When a band releases tracks with cerebral lyrics, it is evidence that they prize their craft over their wallets. We tip our hat to Curtsy, the five-member group from Ventura, California. But the usual tradeoff shouldn’t be an issue for Curtsy’s “Life Through A Glass.” The elegance in presenting their message, as well as the musicianship and song arrangement in supporting that message, make the track pleasing on multiple levels.

The lyrics of “Life Through A Glass (included below) have a number of quoteworthy lines. Our favorite is “You can't blame a heart for the blood that runs through it.” The messaging is one position in the “nature verses nurture” discussion set to music. Many of the verses are repeated, but the song remains fresh because the treatments are dissimilar. As an example, the song begins with vigorous percussion and attractively straightforward guitar as support for the first verse, which is repeated in acapella at 2:02. The second treatment allows appreciation of the individual voices and the male/female harmonization.

In stating the motivation for the song, Curtsy explained:

"’Life Through a Glass’ was written in response to the idea that we are all disturbingly out of control of our own lives--a result of our circumstances, genetics, and chance. The underlying anger in the song expresses frustration with the illusion of individual choice and the judgement that we cast onto others for things which they have no power over. ‘You can't blame a heart for the blood that runs through it’ suggests a sense of universal empathy for everyone, regardless of the hand they've been dealt.”

The members of Curtsy are Austin Knecht (vocals, guitar), Crystal Naploes (vocals, keys), Kai Dodson (bass), Tamara Simons (guitar), and Jonathan Palmquist (drums). It’s time to track/follow the band for future releases and live performances. Currently, their tour schedule identifies a show on March 8th at The Satellite in Los Angeles (see the inset picture). For ticket information, CLICK HERE.